Here's to the Night (Melbourne Part One)

So I’m back from Melbourne and I already miss it. Melbourne is a beautiful city and I think that if I could live anywhere in Australia, that I would live there. The weather is great, the city is big without being overwhelming and it’s just so full of culture. But now, I’m starting to sound like a brochure, so I’ll just tell you what we did…

5 of us (Daniel, Lauren, Steffan, and Alex- who all happen to share an apartment) left Thursday afternoon, catching TT coaches to Brisbane, where we took a train from Brisbane down to the Gold Coast to catch our flight. Let’s just say it was not the most enjoyable plane ride I’ve ever had seeing as how I was seated next to the crying baby. Great. We landed in Melbourne that night and rode the bus into the city where we checked into our hostel.

The rate we had been told for the hostel was that we paid $26 one night and get the other 3 nights for one penny. I was skeptical at first, but we called to double check these prices and they were right so when we got there and they told us that it should have been $26 per night for all of us, we protested. Luckily, they let it slide and even didn’t charge us for the one night, which left each of us paying our $2.50 deposit for our 4 night stay. However, I will say that the hostel quality matched the price we paid. Let’s just say it wasn’t the cleanest place I’ve been, the bunk beds caved in enough so that I was scared for my life every time Steffan got into his top bunk and “free breakfast” means that the staff puts out white bread and jelly every morning. AWESOME. But it just meant that we were more motivated to get out and see the city.

Friday morning we got up and walked around downtown, seeing Federation Square and all the main streets that we were close to. Daniel even bought us flowers from the street in honor of May Day! (which is an unheard of holiday down here) We went to China town and had lunch before walking down to the Queen Victoria Market where they had crafts and fruits and veggies and pretty much anything you could ever want to buy. We bought a lot of cheap fruit and I got a lot of gifts for you all back home.

Melbourne (supposedly) has the biggest AFL (Australian Football League) stadium and we were able to get tickets for Friday night’s game for about ten bucks so we all went and sat in the nosebleeds watching Aussie Football, which to me looked like a mix between NFL and Rugby. I’m sure to anyone sports-inclined, they will say that it is completely different, but whatever. We had no idea who to cheer for (Melbourne Roos vs. the Collingwood Pies) but our team (we eventually decided on the Roos) ended up winning and that’s what matters anyway, right?

We left the game, making a quick stop at Mackers and went to this British pub where Daniel had his first legal (in the States) drink at midnight in honor of his birthday. After that, we headed up to the Fitzroy District where we had heard there were a lot of great bars and clubs. We stopped at a few, ending at one that heralded “90’s Night” where we danced the night away to Ace of Base, Counting Crows and B*Witched. Perfect. At the last place, I ran into James, who I had met while I was in Sydney the first weekend for CIS which was really exciting and we talked about how we’re both going down there soon during the same weekend so we will have another reunion. All in all, it was a fun night and I was already in love with Melbourne.

They Say It's Spring

Well… we are back on the main island. New Zealand already seems so far away but it is good to back in warmer weather and to return to ‘normal.’ I spent the last week catching up on homework and working at “The Breath,” as I so fondly call it. Saturday was ANZAC Day (which is like the Australian equivalent to Memorial Day) and the whole weekend was spent relaxing and recuperating from our trip (with Nutella and Grey’s Anatomy, of course).

I can’t relax for too long though because I’m heading to Melbourne this weekend! After we got home from NZ, we already felt that we needed to get out of Toowoomba. It’s Daniel’s birthday this weekend so 5 of us are flying down to Melbourne for a long weekend. The flights were fairly cheap and the hostel we booked is really cheap so I’m sure it will be a lot of fun.

It has also recently occurred to me that I don’t even hear the Aussie accent anymore. Being around so many nationalities recently, I can’t really distinguish the dialects. I’m hoping this means I will be returning with a bit of Aussie in my speech. I have picked up these words for you though:

- Problems= Dramas
- Sketchy= Dodgy
- If someone is silly/stupid, they are a dag
- And a ginger is a wranga (pronounced ringer)
- I also get “Ta” and “Cheers” a lot at work which I thought was just a British thing but apparently not.

In other news, no mice have returned to my room and I’m currently feeding my HP addiction from the USQ library. (Isn’t my life just so thrilling that you get to hear about mice and my current reading list?) We leave for Melbourne on Thursday so until then, I’ll be packing and working. Hope you all are enjoying the warmer weather you’re getting because I’m heading into winter!

Everyday is a Holiday with You (or Installment 8)

It was a bit sad leaving Nelson, knowing that we only had one more destination before heading back home to Australia (is it weird that I feel like it’s home?) But the thing that made it DEVASTATING was the fact that about halfway through our Harry Potter audiobook, Emma realized that only half of it got uploaded onto her iPod. We were depressed about this (obviously) but we journeyed on, stopping in Picton for some lunch and listening to 90’s music (always a surefire way to get me back in a better mood).

We checked into our hostel in Christchurch in the afternoon and discovered this market that was held right across the street that sold food on Fridays and crafts on Saturdays/Sundays. So we walked over and checked out all the homemade food (and Lauren and I bought some cupcakes. Typical.) After dinner, we went grocery shopping (yes, again…) where we discovered the best grocery store we’d seen by far. It was set up kind of like Costco and had really cheap prices, but you didn’t have to buy in bulk. This is what I call a win-win. We called up the guys we had met in Queenstown and were planning on going to see this improv comedy show with them, but it was sold out. So instead, the guys invited us back to their flat were we met a bunch of their other flat mates and friends (almost all of whom were international as well, which was neat). Their flat was located right in Cathedral Square which is basically the center of Christchurch and they lived behind this alley above 2 bars which made for a fun time. After hanging out in their flat for a bit, we went out to this 80’s club called Boogie Nights were I felt like I could’ve seen my parents dancing across the room. But it was a blast.

The next day we slept in and walked across the street to the art market again, checking out all the handmade scarves, pottery, and the international food booths (mmm, Nutella crepes…) The whole thing was like the Ann Arbor Art Fair on a small scale so it was cool. Also right across the street were these giant Botanical Gardens were we spent the majority of the afternoon. They had this rose garden which had over 100 different types of roses and a greenhouse and this lake which you could canoe on. It was absolutely beautiful. After dinner, we met up again with Anja and Antje and were invited back over to our new friends’ flat. We went out again that night to this Irish bar called Sullivans (where they played EXCELLENT music) and made several other stops that night before crashing into our beds.

Our last full day was spent looking at the Art Gallery and listening to this Salvation Army band that had set up right outside. Apparently, the weekend we were there it was this big jazz festival so I felt like there was always some sort of live music playing. Because we were leaving the next day, we needed to finish all the food we had bought which meant only one thing: binge hardcore. :) After stuffing ourselves, we hung out for the last time with the people we had met and ended up watching a movie at their place. We watched Defiance (with Daniel Craig) and it was actually really good. It was really great knowing people in Christchurch because we would run into them everywhere, like at the grocery store or at the art market which just made the weekend all the more fun.

And thus concludes the tales from New Zealand. The next morning we sadly returned Ellen, our rental car and boarded the plane back to Australia. The trip was amazing and I would tell anyone to go there. Now I am back at school (trying really hard to get out of vacation mode and back into school mode) and working my butt off because there are more trips to plan and more places to see! More updates soon (although you’re probably super sick of this blog by this point) and I hope you all are doing well!

P.S. For all you who were dying in anticipation wondering what happened to Lauren's camera, the hostel sent her an email the other day saying they had found it! :)

I Hope Tomorrow is Like Today (or Installment 7)

Because we couldn’t stay at the Nelson YHA for 2 nights, we had to relocate in the morning to another hostel across town called the Green Monkey, which was one of the better hostels we stayed in (free internet and free cake every night? Sign me up). We walked around the town of Nelson in the morning and hung out (taking full advantage of free wireless) in the afternoon.
Nelson is roughly the size of Toowoomba, I’d guess, and the fact that it was slightly warmer than down south was also a plus.

Nelson’s claim to fame is the fact that you can hike (and when I say hike, I really just mean walk up a steep hill) up to geographical center of NZ. So we did. And it was just as thrilling as you can imagine. Get to the top, see the sign, stand there, take a photo, hike back down. But it was fun. After dinner, we went to this cute pub across the street that had all these ciders and special brews which were all delicious. Meanwhile, Lauren had lost her camera somewhere between relocating hostels and none of us could figure out where it went no matter how hard we searched. But more on that later…

Another White Dash (or Installment 6)

The next day when we woke up (Monday) it was raining but it wasn’t too bad because we had a long day ahead of us in the car driving up to Fox Glacier which is about a 6-7 hours drive north of Queenstown. We listened to Harry Potter 6 basically the entire way, all of us wanting to sleep in the car but trying really hard to stay awake just so we could listen. Once we reached Fox Glacier, it was still raining and we were super tired so we didn’t get to hike to see it, but instead watched Titanic in the hostel and ate some instant noodles. Great life choice.

The next morning, we decided that it would be a good idea to wake up wicked early (eww) and do a hike before driving to Takaka, which is on the northern part of the island. So we all trekked out to Matheson Lake were we saw the stillest water I’ve ever seen in my life. Everything was reflected perfectly into the water and it was especially cool to see the sunrise behind Mt. Cook (we’re on the other side of the mountain now). After the hike, we loaded into the car (and by this point, all of our bags plus the food that seemed to keep increasing was jammed packed into the car, so much so that you couldn’t see out the back window) and headed north, listening to HP (because by now, we were obviously hooked). The roads were super windy and I was thankful I don’t get carsick, but we made a stop on the way at the Pancake Rocks which was kind of neat. Basically, it’s all these giant rocks that are layered on top of each other in the ocean and no one really knows how they formed. So we stopped there for lunch and kept on driving until we spent a quiet night in Takaka.

We left Takaka the next morning, but because our next destination was only a few hours away so we thought we’d see a lot of things on the way. We started out the morning going to PuPu Springs which are apparently the clearest springs in the entire world (besides Antarctica, but who really sees those anyway?) A little further down, we hiked to the Wahui waterfalls, which were absolutely beautiful. All through the hike, I felt like I was in Lost or about to get eaten by a dinosaur from Jurassic Park 2. Actually, everywhere I went, I felt like I was in a movie/TV show (which kind of makes me feel lame, but hey, that’s my life…) The falls were similar to what I’d seen in the Smokey Mountains and the drive up north was a little like the Hawaiian landscape (not that I’ve ever been, but what I imagine it would be like…)

After the springs and the falls, we did a walk through this Grove Nature Reserve (it was a big nature day obviously) which we decided would be the coolest place to have in your backyard as a kid. There were swinging vines (Tarzan?) and all these rocks that had been split apart to made caves/forts. We had heard about this little salami shop that was located nearby so we (after several wrong turns) went to this quaint little homemade salami shop that was owned by this older couple. The others all bought some salami, which at the time seemed like the best idea ever, but eventually caused our food bag to reek of spicy sausage. Mmmm… We also stopped at this bus which was like a roadside restaurant where I had probably THE most delicious chocolate cake I’ve ever had. No lies. Finally, we reached Nelson that night and spent the night in, enjoying hot showers and some salami.

Designer Skyline (or Installment 5)

Queenstown. Definitely a must-see if you’re going to NZ. It was absolutely beautiful. It was a bigger city, similar to Estes Park that clearly made its money by being a tourist destination. Downtown was filled with souvenir shops and places where you could book your skydiving/bungy jumping/paragliding adventures. Because it was Easter weekend and we hadn’t called ahead, we ended up having to call about 10 hostels before finally finding one that was available. Which turned out to be absolutely perfect. It was called the Hippo Lodge and while I didn’t understand why they chose to be branded by a hippo, it was easily one of the better places we stayed. Our window opened right up to the parking lot so we just opened the window and tossed all of our stuff into the room, firefighter style.

We walked downtown (down another giant hill that our hostel was located on top of) and enjoyed a beautiful sunny day and all the nice cafes that lined the streets. We ate dinner while watching My Best Friend’s Wedding and met some of the other people that were staying in the hostel (more on them later as well). We all went downtown that night (it was Friday after all) to the World Bar which is this really cool place (there’s one in Sydney as well) with a great dance floor and drinks served in teapots. We came back that night and crashed, only to wake up the next morning to…

Free pancakes. I’m not joking. I don’t know WHY I thought it was such a big deal, but the hostel provided free pancake mix every morning which I loved. We didn’t have any syrup and they were more like ‘butter cakes’ with all the butter I had to use to make them not stick but they were so delicious. And free. After breakfast, Lauren and I went on this hike (they love their steep hills in NZ) up to the top of this mountain where you could see Queenstown from up high. Once we got back, we walked downtown to visit the weekend craft market as well as Chocolate Patagonia: only the greatest dessert place ever. Actually, let me just digress and tell you; Saturday was a great food day. Breakfast: free pancakes, Lunch: Delicious chocolate mud cake and homemade cookies and cream gelato from Chocolate Patagonia, Dinner: Fergburger. Fergburger is this place which kind of reminded me of Blimpy Burger and had been recommended by literally everyone we had talked to, so of course we had to go. It was pretty good and definitely a step up from the PB&J and grilled Cheese I had had every day until then. (And when I say every day, I mean I had a grilled cheese every day. Good thing, I love it… :) OK, enough about food, I’m making myself salivate.

We went out again that night with the guys we met at the hostel and woke up to (yet another) amazing pancake breakfast. Lauren gave us makeshift Easter presents including a NZ pencil and Cadbury chocolate. :) It was the cutest thing. We had to move out of the Hippo because they were booked but we stayed in the YHA down the road. By this point, Anja had split up from us and was going back down south to Milford Sound with Antje, another girl we know, so Lauren, Daniel and I walked down the riverside while Emma went paragliding in the morning. I spent the day walking along the harbor and Lauren and Emma and I spent the afternoon going to this winery where Emma’s mom imports their wine so we got a free tasting which was a great end to a relaxing day in Queenstown. So that was Queenstown… definitely a favorite weekend thus far (and don’t tell, but I stole some free pancake mix and took it with me for the road. What can I say? I’m a sucker for free food…)

Spectacular Views (or Installment 4)

After leaving Dunedin behind in the morning, we drove a few hours to Te Anau which is on the West side of the southern part of the island. I navigated in the front seat while we listened to various iPods and Harry Potter 6, which Emma had on audiobook (more on this later). The little town of Te Anau is essentially where everyone goes if they want to go up to Milford Sound or Doubtful Sound. It reminded me so much of Grand Lake, CO, with the tiny main street and several lodges to stay on the lake. The YHA hostel in Te Anau was great, mainly because I spent an afternoon reading by the fire (I love vacation).

We were in Te Anau for 2 nights, so the next day the 4 of them went up and took a Milford Sound Cruise and saw dolphins! I didn’t go, but spent the day relaxing and relocating hostels to one down the road, which came to be known as the Holocaustel because of the large Star of David engraved into the wall and the fact that we had about 1 pot and 2 spoons in our kitchen and one rickety ladder to split between two bunk beds. Needless to say, it was not my favorite. But (as it always was in NZ) it was beautiful by the lake and we had fun with it. The next morning we drove up to Queenstown (the adventure capital of the world) which was (yet) another one of my favorite places.

By this point, we are about halfway through with the NZ trip. If you’d like to take a break, perhaps grab a snack and return after intermission, you may. Too bad you don’t have homemade chocolate Kahlua ice cream from Wanaka…